The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.
Parallel translations
- WEB The mouth of the righteous talks of wisdom. His tongue speaks justice.
- KJV The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
- NKJV The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, And his tongue talks of justice.
- NASB The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, And his tongue speaks justice.
- NLT The godly offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom and his tongue justice. Inner godliness overflows in wise, righteous speech.
Overview
David notes that the character of the righteous shows in their words, marked by wisdom and justice. Speech reveals the heart. Such God-shaped speech contrasts with the deceit of the wicked and reflects the renewing work of grace, for out of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45), and the redeemed are called to wise, gracious words.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Col 4:6Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
- Prov 25:11–13A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
- Eph 4:29Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.
- Prov 15:7The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not so the hearts of fools.
- Matt 12:35The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.
- Prov 10:31The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out.
- Prov 10:21The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of judgment.
- Ps 71:15My mouth will declare Your righteousness and Your salvation all day long, though I cannot know their full measure.
- Prov 27:9Oil and incense bring joy to the heart, and the sweetness of a friend is counsel to the soul.
- Ps 71:24My tongue will indeed proclaim Your righteousness all day long, for those who seek my harm are disgraced and confounded.
- Deut 6:7–9And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 37:30 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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